Scotland’s Diaspora Tapestry – A project to involve communities around the world in the celebration of Scottish heritage and culture.
A tapestry, to be created by volunteers in communities around the globe. It will be assembled and displayed in Scotland as part of the 2014 Homecoming celebrations.
So as we move towards the winter, its time to take a quick check on progress with the various tapestries being worked on in and around Barga.
The wool being woven into the tapestry does not handle well in warm, dry weather according to some of the women working on the project and so most of the work is being programmed to be done during the more moist cooler weather of the winter.
So far, the panel showing the most work is the Barga Panel 4 with 6 figures already completed.
Barga Panel 4: World War 2 and the Arandora Star– When Mussolini declared war against Britain on the 10th June 1940, men born in Italy were interned whilst their brothers served in the allied forces. Eighteen (number to be confirmed) Barghigiani men taken from internment on the Isle of Man, lost their lives when the ship they were on, the Arandora Star was torpedoed by a German U boat.
Wanda Bartolomei’s grandfather and grandmother were married by proxy and their children were born both in Barga and Scotland. Wanda recounts the wartime experiences of the four sons: “During WW11, one brother served as an Italian interpreter for the US army, one brother joined the British pioneer corps and my father, Moscardini Galliano and one brother were interned on the Isle of Man.” Her father was selected for deportation to Canada on the Arandora Star with the other internees but fortunately for him, “another man offered to go in his place so that he could stay with his brother.” (interview in Barga)
A memorial garden for the hundreds of people who lost their lives, was opened by the First Minister Alex Salmond and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti. The archbishop comes from Barga.
Barghigiani on the Arandora Star who lost their lives at sea. (Note list is incomplete)
Humbert Alberti da Manchester | Oliviero Agostini di Glasgow | Vincenzo Silvio Bertolini da Glasgow | Ferdinando Biagioni di Glasgow | Giovanni Cosimini di Bellshill | Silvio Da Prato di Glasgow | Nello Ghiloni di Glasgow | Santino Moscardini di Motherwell | Amedeo Poli di Glasgow | Caesar Rocchiccioli di Troon | Giuseppe Togneri di Dumbarton
Scotland’s Diaspora Tapestry – A project to involve communities around the world in the celebration of Scottish heritage and culture.
A tapestry, to be created by volunteers in communities around the globe. It will be assembled and displayed in Scotland as part of the 2014 Homecoming celebrations.
Scots have migrated all over the world and have often has a profound impact on the areas where they settled. This project will see 25 such communities documenting their Scottish connections on a series of embroidered panels.
Their combined stories will pay homage to the incredible determination and courage of Scots over the centuries.
The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry is the creation of Prestoungrange Arts Festival in Prestonpans with key support from Barons Courts of Prestoungrange & Dolphinstoun, hundreds of stitchers and Scotophiles globally, CreativeScotland, the Scottish Government’s Diaspora Division, EducationScotland, VisitScotland and EventScotland. Copyright rests with Prestoungrange Arts Festival.
Scots have migrated right across the globe. Whilst the Diaspora Tapestry has no wish to limit the future embroidered telling of their exciting stories, decisions had to be made for the first cohorts. Prestonpans two foundation Diaspora artworks with Gothenburg in Sweden and Barga in Italy are being followed by 25 other countries. It is planned that all 27 will be completed by Scotland’s 2014 Homecoming. Within each country just one or two communities have been selected but there is scope for many more to be added in the years ahead.